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| Africa Horn |
| Somali Islamic Courts Chairman Fingers US, Others of Covert Actions |
| 2006-04-28 |
| The chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts in Mogadishu, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, has accused operatives from the United States, Israel and Ethiopia of interfering with the internal affairs of Somalia. Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said that the enemies of Somalia have been funding local warlords in a covert anti-terrorism fight. Ahmed’s remarks followed the deaths of two people who were killed after militias loyal to the country’s Islamic courts fought soldiers aligned to a local warlord for control of a school on Wednesday. The clashes occurred after radical Islamic militias seized the school in preparation for war against an alliance of warlords that holds power in Mogadishu. The alliance includes Commerce Minister Muse Sudi Yalahow, whose militia had seized control of the school building. Many analysts believe that the radical Islamic clerics who control most of the country’s Islamic courts are trying to assert themselves as a military and political force in the country. Seeking to curb the clerics’ growing power, some warlords and businessmen formed an armed coalition, the Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism (ARPC). “The militias that seized the area were the neighborhood militias who are determined to establish security. The courts are ready to stand with anyone who tries to work to improve the security in the city,” he said. Talking about a recent secret meeting between some members of the ARPC and foreign officers in Jowhar, 90 kilometers north of Mogadishu, Sheikh Ahmed accused the warlords of receiving covert financial backing from foreign operatives supporting the alliance against the militias aligned with the Islamic courts. “The warlords meet with high-ranking officers from Somalia’s enemies, like the United States, Israel and Ethiopia. They receive money from those officers. The funds are aimed to carry on renewed fighting in the capital city,” he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Gosh, we'll keep that in mind - should we ever start caring what Somalia thinks. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-04-28 10:12 |